– Fierce firefight –
Heavily armed police and paramilitary guards cordoned off the area around the restaurant after the militants launched their attack and then became involved in a fierce firefight with police.
Police said that two officers, including the head of the local police station were killed. Hasina said that 30 officers were injured.
The attack follows a series of killings targeting religious minorities and foreigners.
Earlier Friday, a Hindu temple worker was hacked to death in western Bangladesh and a Hindu priest was stabbed and critically wounded early Saturday in the southwest of the country.
The government and police blame homegrown militants for the killings, which they say are part of a plot to destabilise the country.
Bangladesh’s main Islamist party has been banned from contesting polls and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
Hasina called on all Bangladeshis to “resist these terrorists”.
“My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh,” she added.
Last month authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on local jihadist groups, arresting more than 11,000 people, under pressure to act on the spate of killings.
But many rights groups allege the arrests were arbitrary or were a way to silence political opponents of the government.
About The Author
